WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. House of Representatives committee is resuming its effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over allegations he has been derelict in his duty of managing the U.S.-Mexico border, Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday.
The panel plans to hold a hearing Jan. 10, the outlet said, citing the committee chairman.
Mayorkas told MSNBC in an interview that he would fully cooperate with the investigation and the hearings while continuing to find solutions to address the nation’s immigration system and the number of migrants arriving at its border with Mexico.
The full House in November had paused an impeachment effort into Mayorkas, sending the articles back to the committee as the panel continued its investigation.
“The bipartisan House vote in November to refer articles of impeachment to my Committee only served to highlight the importance of our taking up the impeachment process – which is what we will begin doing next Wednesday,” Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green told Punchbowl in a statement.
A spokesperson for the committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported hearing.
House Republicans have been hammering President Joe Biden over border control, an issue U.S. voters are increasingly restless over, as lawmakers in the House and the Senate continue negotiations over a government funding deal that could help reform the nation’s antiquated asylum laws.
Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to approve his supplemental funding request for the federal government that included additional money to address the border, and Mayorkas echoed that call on Wednesday.
Mayorkas, who recently traveled with a U.S. delegation to Mexico for talks on migration, told MSNBC he was optimistic after meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the Capitol on Tuesday.
“Despite how difficult it is, that progress is ongoing, and I’m hopeful that an immigration fix will occur,” he said. “We are focused on solutions.”
U.S. and Mexican officials have agreed to strengthen efforts to curb the record migration, with Biden’s cabinet scheduled to meet with Mexican leaders in Washington later in January.
Four legal border crossings are set to reopen later this week.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Mark Porter)
